About the Author
Hello there! My name is Alice. I am a currently a nursing student enrolled in the Bachelor of Nursing program at Mount Royal University. Prior to being accepted into the program at Mount Royal University, I had completed Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and a minor in Linguistics at the University of Alberta.
Why psychology and linguistics well I have always been fascinated by the human brain and the disorders glorified in crime shows and movies such as dissociative identity disorder. Linguistics was mainly because it sounded easy and I needed a minor, however, it turned out that I really enjoyed this area of study as it is more than just studying languages. The two disciples complimented each other, on the one hand I learn about languages as well as the different aphasias associated with certain brain damage, and on the other hand I learned about how different psychoses can affect language.
With my area of study, I was able to learn more about how language influence/affects the brain. For example, how bilingualism can increase grey matter in the brain and contribute to cognitive reserve (Anderson et al., 2020, 962; Kilmova et al., 2017, p.1732). These cognitive reserves help the brain bypass areas of damage or compensate (Kilmova et al., 2017, p. 1732; Perani et al., 2017, p. 1690; Anderson et al., 2020, p. 953). I, myself am considered a bilingual; I speak English and Mandarin. As one can imagine these are two very different languages with different grammatical rules and syntax structures. For example, in English, to express past tense in regular verbs you conjugate the verb to have -ed ending versus Mandarin where there are no regular or irregular verb endings. In Mandarin to express past tense you would tack on the character ‘le’了 at the end. A sample sentence: ‘I finished’ versus ‘wo wang le’ 我忘了.
So, now you know why I am interested in the brain and language, but what is up with my interest in dementia? Well, it started when I was doing a research poster presentation for a neurolinguistics class back in my third year of university. As you can guess based on the name of the class it has to do with the brain structures and language. I came across a research article on the benefits of bilingualism/multilingualism and the onset delay of Alzheimer’s disease. That was my introduction into this field of interest.
There were many studies that indicated a positive association with a delay in dementia such as Alzheimer’s, but there were also articles that found no advantage to speaking a second language. Some studies indicated that more than two languages, three or four, resulted in a delay of onset. Nevertheless, more research is needed into this topic to give a definitive answer. Fast forward, my mother was diagnosed with dementia in her early 50’s. I considered this early onset as most individuals do not exhibit symptoms of dementia until way later in life, but my mother was in her early 50’s. She was exhibiting classic signs of dementia such as problems with her memory (short-term and working memory), changes in her mood and affect.
Her diagnosis really solidified into our minds when she left the house, on multiple occasion, with the kettle still on almost burning down the house, luckily only the kettle was destroyed. After these incidents my father asked me about how to cure her. Unfortunately, there is no cure for her form of dementia which is Alzheimer’s disease. Thinking back to what I learned, the only thing she can do is build a social circle for support and to prevent social isolation; start exercising and eating healthy; and challenge your brain.
I had also suggested reading books in her primary language (Mandarin) and conversing with others would help improve some of the short-term memory. This is because your brain needs to hold information in the working memory when conversing with other people or reading so that the individual can follow along with the story and react appropriately, as well as maintain language use. Reading helps maintain language use as she would be involving her visual centres to recognize the words written and what they represent in terms meaning.
My interest in this area has led me to understand that speaking another language can provide protective factors against age related brain diseases. These protective factors contribute to cognitive reserves which in turn helps delay the onset of dementia disease and their associated symptoms. My interest has also let me to help educate my family and friends and dispel some of the stereotypes surrounding dementia.
Anonymous. (2019). [photo of me looking at a castle].
References
Anderson, J.A.E., Hawrylewicz, K., Grundy, J.G. (2020). Does bilingualism protect against dementia? A meta-analysis. Psychonomic bulletin & review, 27, 952-965. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-020-01736-5
Klimova, B., Valis, M., Kuca, K. (2017). Bilingualism as a strategy to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Clinical interventions in aging, 12, 1721-1737. https://doi.org/10.2147/CIA.S145397.
Perani, D., Farsad, M., Ballarini, T., Lubian, F., Malpetti, M., Fracchetti, A., Magnani, G., March, A., Abutalebi, J. (2017). The impact of bilingualism on brain reserve and metabolic connectivity in Alzheimer’s demntia. Proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of America, 114I(7), 1690-1695. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1610909114